Treasure Trek
by Donut Steel
Summary: A side story taking place after certain events of the El Search Party's journey (starring Elsword OCs). A young traveler travels across Elrios in search of rare artifacts, for bragging rights and maybe some riches. Some of the things she'll encounter along the way may be bigger than she could ever imagine.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Rustling of the Lake

The roofs of Bethma Lake shook as the Lizardmen scattered left and right. Crates, tables, and other objects fell over as a shadow jumped from building to building with blinding speed. The confusion from the supposed assault left many wondering whether to pursue the uninvited visitor or try to clean up after them.

They were unprepared for such a sudden turn of events, they had no reason to. The Shaman Kayak was defeated and driven to the unknown, freeing them from his control. They wondered to themselves; could it be that he returned? Is it possible that he has a new trick up his sleeve? It wasn't until the Shadow finally stopped on the tallest building that one of them identified it. It was not a dastardly evil as they feared, but a young human woman with a spear.

"Where the hell is it?" The young lady looked at a small map that she had kept before looking across the village again. "It'd be around the lake, they said. Somewhere on the outskirts, they said." She grumbled to herself as she began her trek through the village. "Always telling you the obvious, but always leaving out that one detail- What the hell?"

She stumbled over as she realized a shaman had shot a fireball at the cloth roof as she was landing on it. Rubbing her head, the human woman got back up on her feet, but not before realizing she had been surrounded, albeit by a relatively small group of Lizardmen. After counting the number around her, she smirked.

"Welp, looks like I've been caught red handed." She raises both hands up before looking at the color of her gloves, "…No pun intended, of course."

"Cheeky of you to come here like this." Said the shaman of the group. "We've long since welcomed humans here again, there shouldn't be any reason for you to be causing chaos like this."

"Hey man, we all got bad apples in our bushels, maybe I'm one of them."

The shaman glared at her, "That doesn't answer my question, you brat!" He calmed down before thinking for a moment. "Just tell us your name and we might give you a free ride back to the human village."

"Name's Nicola, but you can call me Nic. As for the offer, I'm gonna have to decline. I'm afraid of Stella more than I am a bunch of lizards."

"But that wasn't an offer; that was the easy way." The shaman stamped his staff down, "Get her!"

Some of the larger Lizardmen began to approach her, brandishing their clubs threateningly.

"C'mon, it was just a few crates and stuff. That shouldn't take too long to clean up."

"You ruined my rug! I spent hours making that!" One of the other Lizardmen shouted.

"You broke my favorite spear! I needed that to catch fish!" Said another.

"You made me turn into a newt!" Said a third. Nic and all of the other Lizardmen grew quiet as they stared at him.

"What's the difference?"

"I dunno… But I got better."

Seizing this opportunity, Nicola sprang onto one of the larger Lizardmen, knocking him out in the process. "I'd love to ask questions, but I'm kinda here on important business." She bolts forward, building distance away from her pursuers. Looking up, she spots another opening between the roofs of the lizardmen huts, and prepares to boost herself up. However, she had not counted on an armadillo hiding in the bushes, who proceeded to launch itself towards her.

"Spin attack!" It shouted as it headed towards her face.

"NO!" Nic instinctively planted her fist into the armadillo's shell. The opposing force of her fist caused it to bounce off and land in some dry brush, unconscious. With her momentum broken from the sneak attack, Nicola was forced to land back down. "I can't see from down here," She says to herself, "Ugh… I just need to get out of here and hope for the best…"

Before she could move forward again, a large orange Lizardman crashes in front of her. Startled, Nic attempts to run back, only for another large Lizardman to block the other way. She looked over the bridge connecting the huts to find the way back down to be too high for her to jump from. With nowhere to go, Nic took a stance bracing for what's next.

"You're not going anywhere!" The first one squeaked.

Nicola looked at the Lizardman dumbfounded. The shrill voice was enough for make her lose her composure. "Are you serious?" She laughed. "I've heard babies have deeper voices than that! S-say something again!"

The Lizardman steamed. "You dare mock us?!" His voice even shriller than before.

Nicola held onto her stomach as she laughed even harder. "Oh this is too rich! Are you mice now?! I can't take it!"

"First you cause a ruckus, you attack our people, and now you laugh at us!" The second one let out a squeaky growl. "You'll pay for this!"

The young lady finally calmed down, patting her exposed abdomen. "Hah… That felt good~. Now, you were saying? Oh yeah…" No longer taking her adversaries seriously, she puts a hand on her hip while taking a more confidant stance. "Look, I'm really sorry for the mess I made. I really am! But I'm afraid this will have to wait for another time, I'm on really important business. Really secret too…" She brushes her hand forward. "Now if you could just move to the side, I'll go about my way and we can all be happy. Cool?"

"Uncool!" Both Lizardmen warriors drew their blades. "Your bark must be worse than your bite! You don't even stand a chance!"

Nicola sighed at them. "See, that's what one usually says before they get their ass kicked... I'm really not a person you wanna be messing with." She runs her fingers up her abdomen before giving it a firm pat. "Considering how little you guys dress, you might not have noticed, but my midriff… is kinda special. I don't mean that like I'm egotistical… I can't really explain it myself…" She removes the spear slung to her back. "Maybe a demonstration is in order?"

The first Lizardman lunged forward with his blade at the ready, anger flashing in his eyes. An attack like this in such a tight space could prove impossible to dodge, and blocking an attack of such force could knock anyone off balance. As the blade swung forward, Nicola held the spear up anyways, only blocking was not her true intent. She jumped upwards, keeping the spear above the ground, using it as leverage to swing over the blade, twirling as she did so.

Impressed and angered by this show of agility, the Lizardman attempted to slash at where the young woman was about to land. Nicola suddenly somersaulted back the other direction and around the Lizardman. The warrior, believing she'll try the same tactic again, turned around and feigned an attack to her left before going at her right. To his surprise, Nicola jumped up and flipped over him, and drove her spear in front of him as he turned around, twirling around the blunt end before facing him.

"What do you think? Pretty cool, right?"

The Lizardman attempted another swing in rage, only to have the blade kicked out of his hand. Nicola changed the kick into another twirl around the spear before pulling it from the wood below. With her adversary disarmed, she swung around and slammed the Lizardman's face with the broadside of her spear with a mighty crash, sending him stumbling backwards.

"Mama I think I swallowed a fly. Where do I stick the cactus?" The Lizardman mumbled before falling unconscious.

Nicola reassumed her stance as she turned to the second Lizardman. "Sorry about your buddy there, but I'm sure we can still work this out. What do you say?"

"The only thing I can say is that you clearly don't know how to use that!" The second Lizardman pointed to her spear. "Your little dance moves aren't going to work on me!" He charged at her and swung his blade, but prepared to swing back to make sure she didn't try to jump over it again. As he began to pull back, Nicola lunged her spear forth. The Lizardman tried to pull it back all the way to strike again, only to realize his blade couldn't go any further. It was then the warrior caught a small hook at the base of her spearblade, holding the blade by its own hook.

Nicola smirked. "I'd say I can use it pretty well, thank you very much." She pulled her spear back in a dancelike movement and took the Lizardman's blade from his grip, sending it off the bridge and into the stream below.

"C'mon, I don't wanna have to fight more than I have to. Tell ya what, we get your buddy patched up and we'll call it even. Alright?"

The Lizardman simply growled at her. "That was my favorite sword!" He jumped backwards and grabbed a massive club resting at the center column of the hut. In a shrill squeak, the warrior charged forward and swung it aimlessly. Nicola danced around the predictably slow movements before lunging her spear forth once again, poking the Lizardman's big toe. Nic's adversary dropped his club off the bridge and gave a blank look for a moment. Tears immediately began to stream as the Lizardman grabbed his foot, shrieking in pain.

Nicola immediately took the opportunity and jumped over the Lizardman, snagging his harness with the hook of her spear. With a great heave, she swung the spear around and launched the warrior at his partner, who had just regained consciousness to see him barreling towards him. They piled back with a mighty thud, leaving them both unconscious.

The young lady approached them, with her hand on her abdomen. "Still don't know how to explain it, but when I leave it exposed, stuff like that just happens. Also, about 'attacking your people'? I jumped on one guy's head before this little scuffle. That hardly counts as an attack on people." She held her spear up looking at the hook. "You know, maybe I should have used this to scale the roofs. Ah well." She began moving forward. "Maybe now I can explore this place with some peace and…" She began to hear a rumbling and shouting. "…Quiet?"

She saw a massive horde of Lizardmen rushing towards her, armed and angry. Nic laughed nervously at the size of the raging crowd. "Hey… Uh… Sorry about your… uh… bosses? Maybe? We can talk this out, really!" Quickly slinging her spear back, she bolted forward in a panic as the horde charged forward. "I just need to get to the lake so I can jump safely down, then I'm home free!" She began to head towards a corner hut, and prepared to make a turn. "The lake's right around the corner, I just need to-"

"Spin attack!" The armadillo had returned and planted itself straight onto Nicola's cheek as she began to turn. Having had little reaction time to the sudden attack, she faltered to her side and onto the edge of the hut. She barely stops with the edge of her foot. Looking down reveals a steep rocky hill, with jagged rocks sticking out in places. Still in her dangerous position, she spots the armadillo once again, approaching her still standing foot.

She nervously shakes her head at the armadillo as it reaches its paw out at her foot. The armadillo nods in response. She shakes her head with a begging look in her eyes, and the armadillo nods reaches closer.

"N-no." She squeaked.

"Yes." The armadillo squeaked back, and pushed onto Nic's foot.

Nicola shouted in terror as she stumbled over and began falling over the rocky cliff. The horde finally catches up to the building where she fell and looked on. Eventually she came out of their view and they began to look at each other.

"Did you think she made it?" Said one Lizardman.

"I dunno. You'd have to be really lucky to survive a fall like that." Said another.

"If I remember correctly," Said one of the shamans, "That leads to the back entrance of Dragon Nest. If that girl did survive, she'd have to be stupid to go into a place like that."

"But what should we do?"

"I wish Berauk were still around, he'd know what to do."

"He didn't leave any children." The shaman said. "We're still deciding on the next chief."

"It's been so long! How much longer is it going to take?"

"That we are not certain, nobody's stepped up for it. And the decision process is very complicated."

"Can't we just put it up for a vote?"

The shaman merely looked at the other Lizardman. "Do you know anyone good for the job?" When the Lizardman shook his head, the shaman looked at the rest. "Do any of you know anyone capable of becoming our new chief?" The rest of the Lizardmen looked at each other, shrugging and giving confused looks. Sighing, the shaman looked back at the hill. "Regardless, we'll have to send a scout down there, to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." He looks back at the first Lizardman. "Why don't you do it?"

"…But why does it matter to us that she gets into trouble?"

"We still need to punish her for the mess she's made. Now go."

The young Lizardman sighs and prepares for the trek down the hill.

Author's note: Cover Art courtesy of Tiano (BakaTianoRoyale1)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Burning Up

Nicola lain at the base of the steep hill, bruised from her way down. Groaning, she sat up and rubbed her head.

"I… Really hate armadillos…" She attempted to rub her back, and jolted in pain when she felt a slight sting. Removing one of her gloves, she slowly felt around and found a small needle-like object piercing her skin. As she expected, it was a splinter.

"Dammit," Nic growled to herself, "I knew this would happen…" She rummaged around the pockets in her skirt. "I don't have anything… Hmmm…" She found her spear in arm's length, dirtied but remarkably undamaged. Using a cleaning rag, she cleaned the hook at the base of her spearhead. She paused to look at it, and then ended up cleaning off the rest of the spear for good measure.

"Just a little bit of handiwork, and…" Using the hook of her spear, she carefully slid out the splinter, which proved to thankfully stick out far enough to not cause her much trouble. With the splinter removed, Nicola sighed with relief before rubbing her back again. Finally, she got up and stretched, placing her ungloved hand onto her abdomen to feel it as it stretched.

"Now… Where am I?" She surveyed her surroundings. Her bothered disposition vanished as she noticed an opening at the base of the mountain just across from her. She rubbed her eyes to verify that whether or not she was seeing things. Slowly, Nic walked over to the cave opening, and began to feel a slight heat coming out. The heat felt much different compared to the warm desert air around Bethma, and this confirmed she had found her destination.

The discovery filled the young lady with glee and excitement. "I did it! I found Dragon Nest! Few people ever come here, cursed they say…" She reaches into one of her skirt pockets and pulled out a small roll of paper. "Maybe they're right… Or maybe it was just that weirdo shaman acting up… Either way…"

Nic unfurls the paper to reveal a drawing of a large gemstone. "The Dragon's Heart. Known to be the most beautifully cut ruby in the world. They say it was cherished by the dragons of old, almost as much as the El, but nobody even knows what really happened to it or if it truly exists…" She rolls the paper back up and places it back in her skirt pocket. "Nothing's gonna stop me from finding out…"

She puts her glove back on and begins to approach the cave entrance. Right before she stepped inside, a pungent smell began to waft the air. The horrendous stench forced Nicola to clench her face as she stepped back.

"What the hell is that!? It's like somebody smashed a bunch of nature shards in my face!" Still holding onto her nose, she looked closer into the cave to see what was the cause of the smell. "If I'm to get what I came for, I gotta get through that smell somehow…"

In a desperate attempt to break through the strong scented barrier and proceed, Nicola held her spear horizontally and barreled into the cave. She kept her spear close as she rolled through at a blazing speed, ending with a spin kick for flare. The treasure hunter removed her hand from her face and took a deep breath. "Sulfur. Just what a place like this should smell like." She breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the cave.

That was, of course, her intention. Just a couple feet, she saw a dark red lizard writhing about; she recognized the fins adorning the creature and realized it was a komodo. As the creature got back onto its feet, it let out a great hiss and reared its head towards Nicola.

"Jeez, he looks mad." Nicola said to herself. "I _did_ feel something hard when doing that fancy kick…" She looked back at the komodo, who was stiffening further to charge. "Woah! Hey… Sorry about kicking you there. Didn't see you." She casually walked towards the creature in hopes of giving a friendly vibe. "I don't mean any harm. Just looking for a big red rock, have you seen one?" The komodo scraped the ground and gave a final rear to signal its charge. Nicola grew annoyed as she dropped her friendly act. "Well I tried being nice, don't expect me to go easy on you."

In a fit of arrogance, she ran towards the komodo as it charged forward at a blazing speed. As it grew close, she quickly braked and lifted her leg up, preparing to give a swift kick. To her surprise, however, the komodo changed its direction slightly, slamming into her other leg instead. The sheer force of the charge caused Nicola to trip forward as she stumbled towards the cavern wall. As she got up and cleaned the soot off her face, her eyes flared at the komodo.

"You clever little twit. You're so lizard jerky." In a fit of rage, she brought her spear at the ready and charged at the komodo. Not wanting to do the same trick twice, the creature stood its ground and began to take a deep breath. A faint glow came from the komodo's gullet before a mighty flame erupted out of its mouth. Nicola looked down and saw the fiery breath, and smirked. "Looks like you let loose a little early, and luck is on my side." She jabbed her spear into the ground and vaulted over the flames. Twirling along with her spear, she slammed the blade down hard onto the komodo's body, forcing it to shut its mouth in reflex.

Taking a confident stance as she landed, Nicola firmly patted her abdomen as she looked on at the komodo. To her surprise, the impact of her spear left only a dent in the creature's thick scaly hide. She watched as the creature stumbled from the shock of the blow as it burped and sputtered sparks and noxious fluids before falling over. The treasure hunter waited a solid minute before inching towards the komodo, poking at it with her spear. To be on the safe side, she ended up poking the komodo multiple times, hard enough to eventually pierce the skin. The lack of response confirmed to Nicola that it was indeed dead.

"Hehe… Whoops…" She said to herself nervously. _I only meant to knock it out cold…_ She eventually shrugged and began deeper in the cave, but not before she heard a sudden sizzling sound coming from behind. Nicola quickly looked back to find the komodo's hide sizzling and frying from a fluid that had begun to secrete from its back. She headed back to take a closer look as the hide shriveled up from the liquids, leaving a charred husk.

"Huh, so that's why komodo leather's hard to come by." She bent down and inspected the corpse. As she peeled off the blackened hide, revealing the flesh beneath, she began to feel a grumble in her stomach. "Right… I hadn't eaten since I got to the Lake…" Nicola took a closer look at the flesh, which appeared to have been cooked with the hide. With her spear, she sliced off a small piece and sniffed it. Despite the ambiguous smell, she felt no choice but to take a bite.

After four or five test chews, Nicola gagged at the taste of the rancid meat and promptly spit it out. "Eugh." She grimaced as she got up, staring at the open wound. "And that's probably why only Lizardmen can supply komodo meat." She held onto her stomach as it growled even harder. "I knew I should have gotten something while I was at the village. I haven't gotten a bite to eat at all today." She groaned as it continued to rumble. "Calm down already, I'll grab something soon. I just need find what I'm looking for, then I can get all the food you want."

Nicola finally left the komodo and continued deeper into the cave. She looked around the caverns to find heat geysers and dragon bones scattered about. The erupting flames were enough to keep the cavern pleasantly lit, albeit uncomfortably hot.

She looked at the bones with curiosity. "For giant fire breathing badasses, dragons sucked at surviving." She bent down to lift a loose rib, but struggled with the immense size paired with the fact that it had been driven into the ground as well. "Certainly don't want people to find out what happened to them either." She threw up her arms and continued forward. "Screw it."

As she headed for a narrow tunnel at the other side of the cavern chamber, a swarm of bats burst through and began to flutter about. The treasure hunter shielded herself as the bats slammed into the walls and remains, causing rocks and bones to come crashing down in various places. Nicola ran about, dodging geysers and the various chunks hitting the ground. When the bats settled down and nested around the cavern, the treasure hunter found herself among heaping piles of debris. Not a single one of which appear capable of being climbed by hand, nor stable enough to be scaled with her spear. Making matters worse, she began to hear a crumbling sound, partnered with the sound of rocks falling without any resulting impact. It could only be assumed that the next cavern over has all but collapsed into a bottomless pit.

Groaning as she attempted to step her way across what little flooring was left, Nicola felt around the piles in hopes of finding a single broken chunk of bone. To her disappointment, any piece seemingly small enough was lodged into the pile, with even a single movement threatening to cause debris to topple down onto her. She continued stepping forward until she came across an unfortunately placed geyser, sitting between two inhumanly large heaps that reached to both sides of the cavern.

With utmost care, she attempted to step over the geyser in hopes of not triggering it in some way. As her leg began over the spout, however, the flame began to rise up before spurting out with great force. Nicola barely pulled her foot away before the geyser burst, although she still felt the heat and grimaced at the thought. She stared at the once again dormant geyser, waiting for another burst of flame that never came. With reassurance, she attempted to step over the geyser again, but once again pulled away when flames burst forth as she done so.

Nicola grew more annoyed as she glared at the geyser. As test, she inched her spear towards the geyser. As the flames began to rise in warning, she promptly pulled back, and the flames stopped. She inched the spear again, and the flames began to rise. She continued this several times to confirm her suspicions, and glared at the geyser and she knew it was going for her on purpose. Looking around for something to stick over the geyser, the treasure hunter spotted a bat nesting on a rock jutting from one of the piles of debris. With both hands, she grabbed the bat and held it by its wings to keep it from escaping, and rammed it into the geyser.

Relieved, she stepped over the bat and saw the shocked look on its face. "Don't worry," Nicola reassured the bat, "You don't mind a bit of a warm butt, do you?" She turned back to face the thankfully clearer part of the cavern chambered and continued forward. Before she reached the narrow tunnel, a small blast sound was heard from behind. She looked back to find the bat missing from the geyser, and then spotted red patches of fur scattered about. It was at that moment that Nicola had realized that she had exploded a bat. She looked up and laughed nervously at the surrounding bats eyeing her before running ahead.

Squeezing her way through the narrow passageway, her fears from when the bats first arrived were confirmed; the cavern floor has collapsed into a near bottomless pit. Nicola stared poker faced at the pit, hopelessly searching for a small platform or edge to shimmy her way across. The walls also appeared too jagged to run across, and too sharp to properly climb. She stared back at the passageway leading back to the cluttered cavern full of bats before turning back to the pit and sighed.

"I'm going to starve here…" The treasure hunter said to herself. Just as she had almost given up hope, she looked up to find multiple platforms of rock jutting from around the room. Nicola looked at her spear, smirking at the hook. "It always gets worse before it gets better. Guess I'm out of the worst of it." Taking a running start, she launched herself from the floor she had and headed towards the nearest platform. She pulled her spear out and reached it towards the platform, jamming the hook into the rock. From here she swung from the rock before using the momentum to launch herself into the next rock.

Nicola continued her acrobatics unto getting to the final rock before the other side of the cavern. As she jabbed the hook into the platform, the rock began to give way. A nervous sweat began on her face as she watched the cracks reach around the platform before finally breaking apart. The treasure hunter was sent careening down the chasm. She could feel her heart stop at gravity gripped her from the very bottom.

In a desperate attempt, she took her spear and rammed it deep into the wall that lead up to the cavern exit. The spear blade grinded through the rock, gradually losing speed until it made a full stop. Nicola breathed heavily as she looked down at the pit, but still saw nothing but darkness from where she was. She looked back up to see the light of the caverns still visible from where she was. A sigh of relief turned into a pained groan as her empty stomach ached from the stress of the ordeal. Looking up at the cliff, she saw that, unlike most of the cavern, it was perfectly capable of scaling with ease. Grappling on, she pulled her spear out and slung it before finally making her way back up to the exit.

Reaching the end of the uneventful climb, Nicola walked up to the exit of the cavern chamber and peered into the next. She had noticed it was darker than usual, but just light enough to make out a dull dirt floor. Stepping into the cavern, a strange coolness brushed over her. She noticed that not only was the cavern cooler than the rest, it had no appearance of being volcanic. Realizing the comfort she had found, and noting the larger size, the treasure hunter grew elated.

"I knew I was meant for this! I even had a rest spot waiting for me." She sat down and patted her abdomen. "Always there to grant me luck, aren't you?" As Nicola made contact with the floor, however, she noticed a hollow feeling underneath. Smacking her hand onto the ground, she heard a thumping not unlike an elevated stone floor. It was then she realized that like the caverns before, the ground was also hollow.

Nicola grumbled at the revelation. "I just wanted to relax a bit, dammit." She slowly got up and continued deeper into the cave. "Least it's not giving way." After a long walk through the unusually ordinary cavern, she made through to another cavern that resembled the ones she went through before. This time around the cavern was less treacherous; there were no holes for bats to go through, and minimal geysers to merely walk past. She only grew suspicious as she had already encountered a seemingly normal cavern that had revealed to have a potentially bottomless pit underneath.

"Well there's no other way forward… I think I'm prepared for whatever's next." Nicola casually climbed up the large steps before reaching up to the largest rock and pulled herself up. As she poked her head over the edge of the rock, she could only stare as a group of komodo stared back at her, hissing and growling. Taking consideration of her previous encounter with a komodo, the treasure hunter smirked at the group and flipped herself onto the top of the rock. "Just as I expected, fully prepared." She took her spear from her back and took a fighting stance. "I just need to try."

Nicola thrust her spear forth as the first komodo lunged at her. Using the hook of her spear, she pulled back and forced the komodo towards her more quickly, cutting off its attack in the process. Immediately she swung the spear out and smashed the blade into a second komodo as it was about to breath fire, whilst punching the first one out. Immediately the treasure hunter began to take the initiative and charged towards the third komodo, feigning a spear thrust before body slamming it with her shoulder.

As she got up, her eyes locked with fourth komodo as it stared in shock at the defeat of its comrades. Approaching it, the komodo began to make a buzzing whimper. Nicola kept her teasing smirk and held her spear out. "Stab stab?" In response, the komodo squawked and backed away. The treasure hunter snickered at the creature. "I'm just kidding. Just move that scaly butt of yours and we'll both be good, capisce?" The creature nodded and quickly stumbled away.

She watched as the komodo disappeared into the distance before continuing forward. She headed down a slope before heading towards a carved archway. Nicola inspected the archway, intrigued, noting the manmade appearance sticking out with otherwise natural cavern. Before she could say anything, however, a red glint from the other room caught her eye, differing from the softer hues of the fiery cave. Below was a silhouette of what appeared to be a pedestal.

The sight filled Nicola with utmost glee as she ran towards what she perceived to be what she had been looking for. "The Dragon's Heart! I knew it existed! Who knows what history lies behind it? I bet it's the shiniest thing anyone has ever laid their eyes upon. I bet it outshines even the original El. I bet it looks like…" The excitement promptly turned into confusion as she got a closer look at the treasure, "An… egg…" It was a rather large egg at that, albeit not a real egg. Upon closer inspection revealed that the shell was made up of various white shards, as if they were made of bone. Inside she could make out a small red glow, the very same glow which had caught her eye just moments ago. What little could be made out of inside the egg proved too small for anything as large as a mythical ruby.

Nicola sighed with disappointment. "Well, it's some mystical artifact. So that's something." She approaches the egg even further, eyeing it suspiciously. "I wonder if it's cursed…" She quietly places a hand onto the egg and waits for a reaction. Nothing happened after a solid minute, giving the hunter that her treasure was safe for the taking. "I guess that's that then."

As she began to grasp the egg with both hands, a sudden burst of flame next to her forced her to let go and stumble back, nearly causing the egg to fall over in the process. Nicola turned to find her assailant in the form of a scrawny silhouette, waving its staff menacingly.

"Not so fast, human girl!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Bone White Egg Whites

Nicola stared at her adversary with a mix of annoyance and caution. She took care to stand in front of the egg to keep the shadowy figure from getting a clean shot of it. The treasure hunter saw very little of the shadowy silhouette besides a burning staff and a bit of the person's neck it illuminated.

"So…" She said, pacing close to the egg. "Who do I have the pleasure of knocking their lights out? Last I checked this place was all but abandoned."

"Tough talk coming from a petty human thief like you." A sly voice responded. "I've only come to take what's rightfully mine."

Nicola snickered. "That's what they all say." She stepped forward slightly. "Still didn't catch your name. Your parents didn't name you something stupid, did they?"

The figure scoffed in return. "Such a rude little human girl, aren't you?" The flame on his staff flickered as he waved it threateningly. "Not that I'd have to tell you anyways. You won't be alive for long." He slowly stepped towards her.

"Oooh, how scary…" She bent forward to get a closer look, and began to piece together her adversary's identity. "Dark scales, fuzzy coat vest, wiggly neck thing... I know who you are!"

"Hmph, you might be smarter than you look… Do go on…"

She pointed at him triumphantly. "You're none other than the Wizard Canoe!"

The Lizardman looked blankly at Nicola. "…What? No. Alright, if you really want to know, I'm the Sham-"

Nicola put her hand to her forehead as she tried to think. "No wait, give me a chance here… You're the Magus Raft!"

"No! It's Shaman Kay-"

"Warlock Dinghy!"

 **"NO!"** The Shaman shrieked. "IT'S THE SHAMAN KAYAK! You know?! I was the one that tried to take control of Bethma! You… Stupid imbecile!" He threw another fireball at Nicola, which missed and hit a wall nearby in his rage.

"Good job." Nicola said sarcastically as she looked at the ashy impact. "And now I remember. And let me guess: You plan on using this egg to try again."

Kayak calmed down. "That is correct, human girl. And this, is my birthright."

"Oh, did some magic spirit come to you in a dream?" The Treasure Hunter made a face as she faked a deep voice. "O, great Kayak, it is your destiny to go into a fiery hole and grab a magic bone egg… AND MAKE MAGIC BONE BREAKFAST!"

The Shaman gritted his teeth. "Silence you fool! It is an heirloom…" He grew closer, revealing his finer details, and glared at Nicola. "An heirloom I shall use while I prepare for my true plan!"

"You mean this is just gonna be a ruse?"

"That, even I do not know. For you see, my ancestor created this relic. Many many years ago, crafted from ancient knowledge long since lost through time. I am sure he has used it for great and destructive purposes, ravaging the lands and securing his dominance…"

Nicola stood there leaning on her spear, growing bored at the Shaman's long speech. She yawned and started to press and massage her abdomen, taking more entertainment from her empty stomach than the constant blabbering coming from Kayak's mouth. She began to make a mocking mouth motion with her hand as he droned on before finally interrupting him. "So what's your real plan then?"

"Ah…" The shaman had not noticed that he had been ignored the entire time, "I guess there's no harm in telling you. After all, there wouldn't be any way you could stop it even if you did escape with your life…"

"You mean you're gonna try and hit me with some amnesia spell?"

"An interesting suggestion, but too much of a waste… But you did give a good hint of my plan… You see, my little brainwashing scheme… Went under a little. To think! A brat and his friends showing up one such as myself! That's when it came to me… An army of wimpy little lizards couldn't do me any good even if those kids showed up…" A stringy grin came upon his face, "However, an army could still prove some use to me… To add a little protection while I prepare the main event."

The Treasure Hunter only smirked, "And you do realize why this wouldn't work, right?"

"Why? Because you're going to warn them? Last I heard you were giving them trouble. There isn't a chance they'd believe a rabble-rouser like you."

"Course not. I'm just saying that if your army got wrecked once, it could be wrecked again."

"Well, I learned my lesson trying to control that feeble little tribe of mine… That's why I've begun to take over all the other tribes in all other parts of Bethma!"

"Wait, you're telling me there's more than one tribe?"

"Do you think our kind would survive if we all lived like those weak minded fools? Only reason they thrive like they do is because they picked the only good spot near the lake. They can't even get themselves one new chieftain…" The Shaman produced a small pouch from a small pack on his vest, "Which I just happen to have right here… A little spell and I'll have the only competent Lizardman in my tribe under my command once more, permanently! Oh, Berauk how I missed you…"

"And what's your oh-so-great plan?" Nicola stepped closer to the Shaman. "You told me the rest of your plan, might as well spoil the grand finale for me."

"Ah, but that's no fun, there has to be some suspense for my victims after all…" Kayak launched himself forward at the Treasure Hunter, which caused her to stumble back. "Regardless, I must make use of what's mine!"

"Good luck with that, creep!" Nicola regained her footing and lunged her spear at the Shaman, who pulled back just before getting nicked by the edge of the blade. She followed through by slamming into him with her shoulder.

Kayak's feet skid on the ground as he landed. Taking a focused stance, he began to launch fireballs at Nicola. The fireballs began heading in different directions as they surrounded Nicola. In turn, she swung her spear out, slicing through each fireball or knocking them away with the hook.

"Odd how a troublemaker like you would want to save people. But no matter, let's see how you handle this!" Thrusting his palm forth, Kayak launched a flurry of fireballs in Nicola's direction.

"Where's the fun in letting things get destroyed?" With one hand, the Treasure Hunter aimed her spear towards the charging flames and began thrusting it forward at blazing speed, not only dissipating the enchanted flames but causing the spear blade itself to catch fire. Nicola looked at the burning spear with surprise, before making a triumphant smirk and turning to the Shaman, who stared in surprise as well.

Nicola launched herself forward at Kayak, spinning her spear in a dance like fashion. The movements caused streaks of flame to trail around the Treasure Hunter as she cornered the Shaman with the strikes of her spear. As she was about to make a strike towards Kayak's chest, he swung his staff out suddenly and slammed it into the spear blade. The attack threw off her aim, barely getting his arm, and caused the flames to disperse.

The Treasure Hunter looked at the spear before giving the Shaman a nervous giggle. Kayak then rose his arm up, summoning a great pillar of flame in front of him. The sheer force of the attack knocked Nicola back, causing her to tumble to the opposite side of the room. As she began to get up, she saw the Lizardman rushing towards the egg. She hurriedly stumbled back onto her feet and ran at the egg, barely grabbing it as the Shaman put his hands over it.

"Give it to me!" Kayak shouted as he pulled on the egg.

"No!" Nicola pulled harder.

"It's mine!" He put one foot onto the pedestal to give himself more strength.

"I don't care!" She put her foot on the opposite side in turn.

"Give it!"

"No!"

"Give!"

"I said no!"

"It!"

 **"No!"**

 **"Now!"**

 **"I… Said… No!"** Nicola fell back and landed on her backside as the egg flew out of both their grasps. The two looked helplessly as the egg came crashing down on the hard rocky floor away from them before smashing apart into several pieces.

Kayak grabbed onto Nicola's jacket in anger. "You fool! What have you done?!"

The Treasure Hunter grabbed the Shaman's vest in return. "You're the one trying to wreck stuff with it!"

The two growled at each other before being stirred by a rumbling nearby. They both looked on to find the many shards of the egg quaked and trembled. Slowly, one piece began to mold and grow before twisting into the shape of a large jawbone. One by one, all the other pieces began to expand and assemble onto the jawbone, culminating into the shape of a large creature before them. The creature reared its head towards the two before releasing a mighty roar.

Kayak let go of Nicola. "A Bone Drake! My ancestor crafted a bone drake!" His hand generated a flame as he faced the creature. "And now you are under my control!" The Shaman grew wide eyed as the creature snarled at his futile attempt. He turns toward the treasure hunter. "I'll just leave you here as the beast's first meal. You can take this as a preview of the main event…"

"Wait!" Nicola called out as the Lizardman slithered away into the darkness. She turned back to the Bone Drake, who turned its head towards her. "Hey…" She smiled nervously at the beast. "How's it going? Just hanging out?" She began to sweat while her stomach clenched as smoke bellowed out of the Drake's skull. Her fright began to leave her as she took a closer look at the monster's chest. The red sliver that had been inside the egg has revealed itself to be the Dragon's Heart itself, both literally and in name.

"If I can get that thing from out of its ribcage, maybe I can stop it!" Setting her sights on the massive gemstone, the Treasure Hunter stood up facing the Bone Drake. "Alright, here's the plan! First, you stop any plans of turning me, or anyone else, into jerky. Then, you give me that little heart of yours, Then we can go about our business, like professional… business people! Sound fair?" The beast roared at her with a force strong enough to cause her hair to stand back straight.

"…I'll take that as a no." She pressed her hand onto her hair to bring it back down. "Alright then!" Nicola charged forward at the Bone Drake, making a bee-line for the Heart lodged in its ribcage. The beast attempted to strike her with the back of its claw, but the treasure hunter had prepared as such and swung her spear at the claw, shattering it into pieces. Assuming her victory's been assured, Nicola attempted to thrust her spear into the ribcage to free the Heart. As the blade was about to make impact on the bone, she began to feel something pull her jacket as she was lifted up off the ground. She looked up to find the Drake carrying her with its mouth.

Before she had a chance to react, the beast threw her across the room, leaving a human shaped imprint where she hit the cave wall. As she landed back on the ground, the shards of the shattered claw began reforming. "Dammit!" She swore under her breath. "I just need a clear shot to its chest, then I can grab its Heart and-" The Treasure Hunter's heart almost stopped as the Drake unleashed a breath of fire in her direction. In desperation, she rolled on her side, barely dodging the flames coming at her.

Looking up at the Drake, Nicola began to notice the beast resting its claws and nodding its head down. "This thing only just hatched… It must tire easily. This has to be my chance!" She knelt down and held her spear up towards the Drake's ribcage. With a mighty heave, she threw the spear with all her strength. She watched as the spear went directly at the rib encased over the Heart, just as she had hoped. Instead of shattering as she had done to the claw moments before, the spear bounced off the boney exterior and fell onto the ground with a harmless clink.

The Bone Drake looked back at the treasure hunter and let out another roar in anger. Realizing what it would mean without her prized spear, Nicola stumbled forward and grabbed it while the beast was still slowed down. A claw came forward just as she stood up and barely missed her abdomen. The Treasure Hunter held her stomach as it ached from the sudden thought of being clawed. Soon after, a second claw came forward, but she was better prepared this time. As the claw approached her, she did a backflip out of the way before launching herself forward.

With another swing, Nicola once again smashed the claw, but kept her distance from the ribcage. She followed through with another lunge at the other claw. The Drake began to move its claw out of the way, allowing the spear to move harmlessly past it. The Treasure Hunter smirked as it had done so, and pulled her spear back, catching the arm with its hook. The beast attempted to shake her off by lifting its arm up to try and shake her off. Just as it began to do so, Nicola swung herself from under it, flipping herself in the air behind it.

Landing on top of the Bone Drake's back, the treasure hunter wrapped her legs around its neck to keep it from trying to bite at her. With both hands, she held her spear up just below its blade and began driving it down into the beast's ribcage. The Drake began flailing back and forth as Nicola struggled to drive her spear deeper and deeper into the bone, whilst trying to keep her balance. She slightly jerked her head to the side to find the still solid claw attempting to grab at her. Quickly, she pulled her legs up and used the padding of her skirt to spin around, lifting herself by her hand and used her momentum to kick the claw to oblivion.

Nicola looked down on the indent she put on the rib with frustration and jumped upwards before the Drake could turn its head to bite her. "Alright. That's it…" Planting her feet onto the wall nearby, she launched forward, spinning towards the beast, "GIVE ME MY PRIZE YOU DAMN PINATA!" She crashed her spear directly onto the Bone Drake's spine, smashing the entire ribcage and severing the head in the process. She finished by using the weight of the impact to vault herself out of the ruined skeleton.

After she landed, the Treasure Hunter looked back at the wreckage with a satisfied look on her face. Placing a hand on her abdomen, she gave a deep breath in relief before wincing as her stomach gave yet another growl. "Be patient, dammit! I'll grab something soon." She rubbed it for a moment before smirking back at the Bone Drake. "But first, I need to get my prize."

As she approached the ruined body, the many bone fragments began quaking once more. Nicola backed away as she watched the pieces move around and expand once more into a reformed Bone Drake, this time even larger. She looked up as the beast let out a mighty roar, and gave a sigh in frustration. "You're… not gonna die, are you?" She gave an annoyed sigh before leaping back to dodge an incoming swipe from the Bone Drake's claw before bolting through the entrance of the chamber.

The Treasure Hunter looked through the archway to see if the Drake was following her. She noticed the beast attempting to stumble forward and struggling to stay on its feet. "This thing still hasn't learned to walk. That should buy me some time." Nicola gymnastically flipped herself over the large rock and across the hall that lead to the chamber until she made it back to the cooler caverns. Putting a hand to her ear, she listened for the continued scraping and crashing as the Bone Drake struggled forward.

"Well…" She shrugged. "Can't put it out of its misery… I just need to seal it somehow…" As she looked at her spear, a thought came to her. "Oh yeah! I forgot about this thing!" She pressed on the broad side of her spear, opening a secret door and revealing a small compartment. Inside was a small cylindrical object attached to a tiny mechanism. "I always forget I had this. I wonder why I never use it." She pulled on the cylinder to reveal a fuse attached to it, stretching out of the mechanism. "Nothing like a little dynamite to brighten up someone's day.

With a quick tug, Nicola ripped the dynamite out of the mechanism, lighting the fuse in the process. She ran backwards before tossing it at the cavern opening. She turned back, satisfied, and slung her spear back before dusting her hands as she headed back towards the past caverns. She eventually made it back to the bottomless pit, and knelt down at the ledge.

"Now how the hell am I going to get back over there?" She muttered under her breath as she peered at the opposite end over the cavern. "If I try to jump, that pit would swallow me for sure." Nicola grumbles as she tried to think of a solution before hearing a voice from behind her.

"Lady! Human Girl! Uh… Uh… Nikolai!"

The treasure hunter looked behind her to see a small Lizardman skittering up to her. He looked at her shaking with a nervous expression on his face.

"That's 'Nicola'" She shot back, "Nic for short. What is it anyway? And how the hell did you get over here?"

"N-Nic!" The Lizardman stammered. "Y-you gotta get out of here! This place is d-dangerous!"

She gave him a sarcastic look. "That's kinda what I was signing up for, kiddo."

"No! Y-you don't understand! It's even worse in these parts!"

With that, she stood up. "You're telling me! I just came out of fighting a-"

"There's a gas pocket underneath this place!"

For a moment, there was silence. Nicola looked up wide eyed. "…What?"

"Didn't you smell it when you came in? We dug out a vent near the entrance so we could try and air it out!"

Nicola began to tremble nervously as she recalled the stick of dynamite she had planted in the cooler cavern before she laughed nervously. "Say… uh… You didn't answer my other question…"

"Oh! Uh, there's another way through this passage!" The Lizardman pointed to a small entryway off the side of the passage that Nicola had just went through.

"Cool… Cool…" She continued to laugh nervously as she approached the hidden passage. "Perfect… Now… If you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna… **RUN AWAY!"** She hollered as she bolted through the narrow passage.

The Lizardman looked around dazed. "Why's she panicking all of a sudden? There's no immediate danger… Just don't break open the ga-"

His words were cut off as the entire cavern burst with a massive fireball underneath. A large rock underneath him protected him as he was launched by the ensuing explosion. Rock and debris flew by as the Lizardman was paralyzed with a mix of shock, confusion, and fear. He watched as the clouds and sky got closer and closer before the rock and himself finally slowed down and began plummeting down.

 _What just happened?_ The Lizardman thought to himself. _How did the girl know what was about to happen? Did… Did she have anything to do with it?_ As he fell faster and faster, he noticed a large piece of skull falling in front of him. At first it appeared like any other dragon skull, until he noticed a more devilish shape and smaller stature. _Hey… I think it's that thing from the legends… Was it alive? Was it coming after her?_ In that moment, something clicked in his head, something that somehow changed his assumption. _It must have been behind the explosion, and she was running to warn us! She must have realized what it was going to do, that's why she was panicked! She must have so brave against it… I must tell the village! If I can make it…_ The Lizardman closed his eyes before landing into the waters of Bethma Lake.

Nicola flew across the sky, likely a thousand feet in the air, if not more. She had been in the air for so long that she had dropped all sense of fear for the moment, longing to be on the ground again.

 _Maybe that's why I never use that… I should remind myself not to reload it again._ She spun herself around in the air to watch all the debris surrounding her. She grabbed a nearby piece of bone that had been falling with her and smashed it into her hand. _Well, whatever happened, I guess that thing won't be reforming any soon._ She looked back to find the massive crater left behind by the blast. _Damn, I sure let it rip, didn't I? Eh, they'll recover._

The treasure hunter looked aimlessly around the surrounding sky. She watched with growing disinterest as more debris fell around her as she waited for her moment to make impact. It was then she saw a large red object falling over her. Her hopeless boredom grew into giddy excitement as she recognized it as the Dragon's heart.

"That's it!" Nicola shouted. "That's it that's it that's it thatsitthatistthatsitthatsitthatit!" She began flailing her arms towards the gem, trying and failing to reach it. "Just a few more feet then I can prove this thing's existence! I just need to grab it, hold it! IjustneedtobemineforacouplesecondssoIcansayI'vehaditandsayIfoundalegendaryartifactan-"

Her excitement ended as she crashed through a roof beneath her. Wood pieces flew in all directions as a large soft bed broke the treasure hunter's fall. She just barely had enough time to recover before the gemstone followed suit. She fell backwards to avoid it as it cut through the mattress and left a massive indent. Ignoring the destruction she had caused around her, she moved upright and grabbed the Heart with glee.

"Yes! Finally! Proof of my skill! I can finally say that I've discovered a legendary artifact! I'm moving on the world!" Nicola fell back on the bed and held the gemstone to her side. She sighed as she patted her abdomen. "You've done me proud."

Just across from her, she heard a shrill screech from the bedroom door. She got up to find a richly dressed young man panicking at the sight she had just made.

"GUARDS! GUARDS! THIEF! THERE'S A THIEF IN MY BEDROOM!"

Not long after, multitudes of armored men burst through the door and surrounded the bed. They all pointed their weapons at Nicola, who froze at their sudden appearance. She rose her hands up before any of them had a chance to command her to do so.

"Uh… I can explain…"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A Warm Welcome with a Side of Salt

The young man continued to scream as he looked around his room, which had been covered in splinters from the Treasure Hunter's "entrance". Nicola herself watched while surrounded by guards as his face further contorted with horror as he looked at the mess she made.

He turned to his dresser, which had been knocked over from the crash. "My imported mahogany chiffonier!" He looked at the clothes that had spilled out, which had been soaked with water. "My favorite silk robe!" The young man traced the water to a shattered vase with a couple of flowers sitting in the puddle. "My crystal vase! My rare unnamed flowers!" He turned to the other side to find a mirror knocked over and shattered over a small fancy desk. " **My parlor!** "His eyes widened to their fullest as he let out a shriek after looking just next to the parlor.

Nicola looked to where the young man was facing, but backed away as one of the guards nudged their weapon towards her. Behind them she could barely make out a relatively large stuffed animal, more specifically a teddy bear. Amongst the fancy garb it donned and honey colored fur was an extra coat of large splinters, as a result of her "graceful" burst through the roof and ceiling.

" _ **MR. SNUGGLEBUNS!**_ " The young man squealed angrily at her. " _ **WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MR. SNUGGLEBUNS?!"**_

 __"Huh?" She turned back to face him as he got her attention again, "Oh, hey… Sorry about coming in like this… You see I was going through this cave, right? And-"

" _ **THAT DOESN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION, YOU THIEF!**_ "

"Oh, oh yeah…" She looked back at the teddy again. "Ehhh I wouldn't worry about your bear… Nothing a little elbow grease can't handle…"

" _Grease!?_ " He cringed at the word, "You people use _grease_ to clean cashmere!?"

"Dude, relax." Nicola began to take the young man less seriously as his voice grew more jarring. "Just a bunch of splinters, no big deal really…"

"No big deal!?" His face was red and puffy as he pointed at her. "I'll show you a big deal you vagabond! Guards! Take her away!"

"Now what is going on here?" An older man's voice interrupted the guards as they were about to move towards Nicola. Just behind the young boy was an equally dressed gentleman, standing with a more refined posture.

"Guards, do lower your weapons." The guards stood back as he adjusted his suit and stepped closer into the room. "Whatever's going on here, I'm sure violence won't help any."

The young man looked distressed at the gentleman. "F-father! That thief just fell from the sky and ruined my room! Look what she did to Mr. Snugglebuns!"

"Now now, Samson," The gentleman said calmly, "Just because somebody bursts through the ceiling doesn't mean they're a thief. Accidents can happen, after all."

Behind them, a female voice was heard. "Darling, is everything alright?" An elegantly dressed woman approached the gentleman. "I heard a crash and shouting. Has our child found a small spider or something?"

The gentleman turned to her. "Nothing to worry about, my dear. Apparently a girl crashed into our boy's room. He thinks she might be a thief."

"That's right, mother!" The young man's whiny voice continued to tear at Nicola's ears. "That girl smashed into my room and destroyed everything in sight! She ruined my parlor!"

The woman placed a hand on Samson's shoulder. "We can always get you a new parlor. Preferably one less…" She grimaced at the ruined parlor, "…Gaudy."

"But mother!" He whined further. "That was my special corner ever since I was tiny! That's what you said!" He pointed at Nicola. "And now she's gonna steal what's left of it!"

"Now now, Samson, we can talk about that later," His mother hushed him, "Your father and I will deal with this so-called intruder."

The gentleman turned back at the young woman still on the ruined bed. "Of course. We still have the 'thief' herself, as you call her, to contend with." He approached her calmly. "Now, young lady, as you know, crashing through somebody's roof isn't exactly a civilized feat..."

Nicola looked awkwardly at the gentleman. "Well… Yeah, there's a long story to that…"

"Well, there's no doubt of that. Regardless, it's because of that that my son has mistaken you for a thief. That _is_ a mistake, after all, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir. I didn't even think I would even fly this far, sir." The Treasure Hunter figured the gentleman's friendliness in contrast to this "Samson" character might give her a chance to get her out of trouble.

"Although, even if you were a thief, you only just arrived, and since you hadn't had a chance to steal anything assuming you were a thief… Dear?" He turned to the woman who Nicola assumes is his wife.

"We would still have to have her arrested for breaking in, remember?" The woman's words cause Nicola to shiver. "…But she seems like a nice enough girl."

"Of course, of course… Young lady, we're not going to have you arrested." The gentleman reassured the Treasure Hunter, who breathed a sigh of relief as the young man let out a confused mix of groaning and gasping. "However… You did cause damages to our home… so there will be something to pay for…"

Nicola grew wide eyed. "P-pay…?"

"Well, of course. We can't just have somebody breaking everything on our dime…" He looked around at the wreckage of the room. "I'd probably say that all of this could come around… What's that then?" He looked down to finally notice the large stone that Nicola had been holding.

"Huh?" She looked down at the Dragon's Heart. "Oh this? Uh…"

The gentleman motioned towards his wife. "Dear, come look at this…"

The woman walks to the gentleman's side. "Never have I seen a ruby of that caliber…"

"We've got to get a closer look…" He looks up at Nicola. "Young lady, do you mind?"

"Uh…" She returned a blank look before looking down at the massive stone at her grasp. Despite her reluctance to let go of her treasure so easily, the situation she found herself in was driving her to give it up if only to get herself out of trouble. Besides, both the gentleman and lady gave a trustworthy vibe to her. Besides the extreme hunger she has been feeling the entire day, her stomach didn't give any indication not to trust them.

Finally, Nicola relented, "Yeah, sure, go ahead." She hefted the stone up to the couple, who motioned the guards to hold it up. They began looking to it with a great awe seldom carried by those of their wealth. They spoke to each other in hushed tones as they stared wide eyed at the ruby.

"Look at the size of it, larger than even the largest diamonds I had ever seen."

"An amazing cut as well, such craftsmanship…"

"And such a luscious hue…" The gentleman turned back to the Treasure Hunter. "Young lady, where did you come across this... Masterpiece?"

"Oh, uh…" She thought for a moment to give a short sweet version of what lead to her acquiring the Dragon's Heart, "Underground… From a spooky scary skeleton dragon thing… before flying off into space… Yeah, that's it."

"This would make a fine addition to our household." The noblewoman noted. "How much would you be willing to part with it for?"

Nicola lit up as the young man behind the couple let out a gasp of exasperation. "You mean, this would pay for all of this?"

"All of this?" The gentleman looked surprised at her. "Why, we could probably build Velder Castle with this alone! You're not the one in our debt anymore, Miss. Quite the contrary, even!"

"Father, please!" Samson whined. "Mother say something before she starts making this her home!"

"Why, that's an excellent idea!" The woman looked at her husband and they nodded at each other before turning back to Nicola. "Young lady, you seem like a lone wanderer type, how would you like to stay with us for the night?"

Before the Treasure Hunter could answer, she felt a growling pain in her empty stomach. She blushed as she held her stomach and looked back at the couple before letting out an embarrassed giggle. "…How about a bite to eat?"

"Why, of course! We'll have our chefs prepare a feast in your honor!"

"One question though…" The gentleman asked. "You're not a vegetarian, are you?"

Nicola's eyes lit up further as her mouth began to waterfall at the question. "No sir!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Casually Fine Dining

One could only imagine the thoughts racing through Nicola's head as she watched as the empty space of the opulent table in front of her disappear to the countless platters being set before her. Or rather, what wasn't going through her head. Countless thoughts swirled around in her mind as the countless aromas wafted in her nose, all of which could be summed up in one word.

 _Food._

Her mouth salivated as her eyes danced around all the platters that surrounded her. Food was all she could think about as it teased her, but more specifically: Meat. She could see the perfectly laden spices dance along with the juices bubbling from the freshly cooked proteins of varying varieties. The sight and smells of the food combined with the emptiness clawing at her stomach did nothing but keep her wide eyed at the flavorful canvas, blind to almost all else around her.

"Is there anything wrong, Miss? Go ahead; Dig in."

Almost immediately on command, Nicola grabbed both the fork and knife laid out in front of her. Not even moving anything to her own plate, she began to jab the silverware into every morsel she laid her eyes upon, shoveling everything piece by piece into her mouth. Chewing loudly only when her mouth was filled to the brim, she was truly a sight to see at the dinner table.

The couple continued to smile at her, only vaguely unsettled by her ravenous eating habits and the mess she's progressively making on the table. Samson, on the other hand, made it very visible that he was disgusted at the sight. He could only look on in further disgust as he watched their guest knock over her drink, which unceremoniously splattered all the way to his spot in the table, the absorbent cloth being the only thing stopping it from dripping onto him.

"Mother, Father!" He whined. "She's making an absolute mess of everything!" His otherwise obnoxious shrilly voice was drowned out to the Hunter's ears as she continued eating.

"Now now, Samson my boy." The Gentleman motioned to his son. "She is our guest. You could say she paid for this meal even."

"So do tell us, Miss…" The Lady turned to Nicola, before giving a thoughtful look. "Why, Miss, I don't think you've ever given us your name!"

"Mmmph?" She swallowed heavily before taking a swig of her already refilled glass. "Oh, name's Nicola. But I'd rather go by Nic."

"Lovely name… Lady Nic." The Gentleman stuttered at the Hunter's casual demeanor. "Is it alright for us to request your surname?"

Nicola had already shoveled more food in her mouth as he asked the question. "Mmph Smph-nmph?" She forced herself to swallow again and looked at the fancy dressed couple with a blank stare. "My Sir-name?"

"Surname, Lady Nic, Surname!" The Lady smiled at her. "I'd love to get to know your family if given the chance!"

"Oooh, you mean my last name?" Realizing that this won't be the end of her hosts' questions, she put her utensils back down and sighed. "Calypso. My family lives in Elder."

"Calypso? The name sounds familiar…" The Gentleman looked as his wife. "Wasn't the chief mason…?"

"I'm not exactly sure…" The Lady wondered thoughtfully. "I mean, I do recall meeting a historian at a party in Velder…" She turned back to Nicola and smiled. "But there's no need for speculation. Lady Calypso deserves her own merits. I'm certain she's made a name for herself."

Nicola blushed and giggled at the compliment, before quickly gathering her composure. Striking a pose in her seat, she beamed brightly with a proud smile on her face.

"That's right! Went on my own at the age of 16 and made it all the way to Lanox and back before hitting 18!"

"Truly?"

"So you're an explorer, then?"

"Well… I…" She grew poker faced before looking back nervously, her abdomen twitching slightly.

 _Crap! I don't think telling them I'm a treasure hunter is a good idea._ She began to sweat bullets all over. _For all they know, they might translate that as stealing, and think I actually was a thief! C'mon, think, Nic, think!_

Turning back, she gave the rich couple a toothy grin. "Actually, I like to call myself a 'freelance archaeologist'."

She begins to shovel more food in her mouth in hopes of convincing the nobles to give her a break from questions. The couple however, continued to only beam at her.

"So you're a treasure hunter then?"

Nicola nearly choked as she shuddered at the question. Beating her chest, she forced herself to swallow before she could spew anything out and cause an unceremonious mess. She returned a nervous smile and laughed easily so.

"You could say that…"

The Hunter gave an uncomfortable look at the couple, who returned a concerned look. A good several moments passed as the couple continued the alternate their view between Nicola and each other. Not even Samson could relax from the aura that the Hunter gave off.

Finally, the Gentleman piped up, "Well, I don't see the problem with that."

The Lady chimed in as well. "I agree. After all, it's not like you're actively going around a busy city and stealing valuables like candy. That wouldn't be much of a treasure hunt with that kind of exploitive behavior."

Initially stiffening from the surprise response, Nicola breathed a sigh of relief before smiling. "Of course, I tend to focus mainly on old stuff nobody's using. Preferably stuff that doesn't come with some thousand year curse or something like that. I like to face danger, but I prefer something more head on and not all magic mumbo jumbo."

"So I take it that lovely stone is guaranteed to be curse free?"

She pondered for a moment. "Yeah, sure. Just keep dragon bones away from it and you'll be fine… What are you planning to do with it, anyway?"

The Gentleman returned a thoughtful look. "We've decided to reach out to the historians from Velder to take a look at it. For a hefty price, of course." His eyes widened as if to remember something. "By the way, would you care to have your name attached to such a find?"

Nicola gave a nervous look at the mention of Velder. "I… I tend to keep myself anonymous when it comes to sending stuff there. T-thanks though."

"Really now? I could have sworn you'd be more into fame and fortune."

"I don't do this to make a name for myself. Just for the thrill of it. The money is just to keep food on the table." She suddenly perked up and squints at the couple. "Wait a minute, you guys haven't even given me a name yourselves. Who are you?"

"Why, how rude of me. All this time and we've been practically anonymous in your eyes." The Gentleman stood up from his seat and gently bowed. "I am Lord Deephallow, and yes my father actually named me Lord."

As Lord Deephallow continued to introduce himself and his wife, Nicola could only stare with a poker face as the couple smiled at her and rambled about their family history.

 _Well, this has gotten boring. I wonder if they're gonna serve dessert any time soon? I hope it doesn't have raisins in it. I hate raisins. What were they talking about again? Something about his father's mother? Or was it his mother's father? Did she mention something about a cousin's roommate? Did they even have those kinds of schools?_

"…And my family's company has run strong to this very day, hour, minute, and second." Lord Deephallow became silent for a moment, content with all that had been said.

Soon after, his wife chimed in. "Dearest, aren't you forgetting someone?"

"Oh, right!" He motioned to Samson, who has had a scowl painted on his face this entire time. "I'm sure you've already been acquainted to our son, Samson. I do hope we can move past first impressions."

"Father," Samson whined, "I really don't think I want to have anything to do with that trashy vagabond!"

"Sweetheart, please." His mother tried to reassure him. "Lady Calypso is a nice young lady. I'm sure she's willing to deliver an olive branch. Isn't that right?"

"Huh? What." Nicola had almost fallen asleep from Lord Deephallow's story. "O-oh yeah, Olive Branch, peace treaty. Yeah, bury the hatchet, sure."

"That actually reminds me." Lord Deephallow approached Nicola. "I understand you've already done much for us with your find. But there's a favor I'd like to ask of you…"

 _Man this guy's really sucking up to me._ The Hunter thought to herself. _I really don't feel like being someone's errand boy. I think I'll just flatter him for the moment._

She shot him a bored expression"Depends on what you want."

"Well, you see. You're someone who's more than capable of taking care of yourself, and I take it you're… 18, right?"

"19 now, actually."

"Ah, perfect! My son happens to be the same age, but I feel like we're sheltering him and we thought maybe you could take him on one of your adventures?"

" **WHAT!?"** Samson could only screech at his father's suggestion.

Nicola was unimpressed as the young man's face contorted in horror. _There's no way I'm dragging this wienie around._ _The guy's just screaming bait, and that's not exactly what I need._ _Better let his old man down gently. Just play it cool._

"Yeah, sure. Why not?"

 _DAMMIT!_

Lord Deephallow smiled. "Splendid! I hoped you'd say that. Hopefully with your expertise, Samson will become a strong young man! And hopefully not a self-absorbed freak like my cousin Wally." He adjusts his monocle. "I'm glad they removed him from power, at least. Being exploited by your own cousin, the nerve!"

"Father, please!" Samson groveled. "I'm begging you! I can't go with that trashy vagabond! She'll ruin this new suit Mother gave me!"

"I made sure the suit was stain resistant, sweetheart." His mother smiled. "And I'm sure you're in good hands. Am I not correct, Lady Calypso?"

Nicola gave an unsure look. "Yeah, I'll keep him safe. Don't worry."

 _That kid is dead meat. Mmm, meat._

Lord Deephallow clapped his hands together. "Now that that's out of the way, I think it's time we moved on to desert. If you haven't already had your fill, Lady Calypso."

"…No Raisins?"

"None of the sort, actually!"

The Hunter's eyes sparkled as her mouth drooled once more. Scents of chocolate, vanilla, and berries of varying kinds had already begun to fill her nose. A big grin grew from ear to ear as she let out a quiet squeal.

Samson, on the other hand, drooped in defeat. His room ruined, the culprit celebrated, and his appetite ruined. He could barely do more than savor what might very well be his last night at home.

"This is the worst day ever." He whimpered. "And it's all downhill from here…"

The young man grimaced as he felt Nicola's gloved and most likely dirtied hand onto his shoulder. He turned and let out a disgusted mix of a whine and squeak as he saw her face close to him.

"Hey, don't worry!" She patted his shoulder. "I'm sure we'll make the best of friends!"

 _This guy is seriously screwed,and so am I._


End file.
